Sorcery and a Christian Response in the East Sepik

CHAPTER TWO

SORCERY AND A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
IN THE EAST SEPIK

Philip Gibbs and Josepha Junnie Wailoni
1. Introduction

Speaking to an elderly Christian woman from the East Sepik Province
about her attitude to sorcery, we proposed two possibilities: Did she
think Sorcery was just superstition, so if she refused to believe in it,
it would not affect her, or is it something which she thought she
should take seriously but her faith as a Christian gives her protection
against, so that Sorcery will not harm her? She considered the
proposed options, but did not respond to either of them. Instead, she
spoke about right relationships. "Lotu na kastam i wankain. Sapos
mi abrusim mak o mi no givim samting long narapela man na mi
haitim, ol bai kros na kilim mi long posin. Sapos mi laikim olgeta
arapela man, mi no inap indai long posin" (Faith and traditional
values are similar. If I contravene customs or laws or if I have
something and I hide it and don't share it, others will become upset
and resort to Sorcery. If I love and respect others, I don't have to
worry about Sorcery.) She was combining indigenous and introduced
Christian values to interpret the source of Sorcery in any lack of
harmony and reciprocity in social relations. Our theoretical questions
served little purpose for her, divorced as they were from the social
context.

This study is about Sorcery in one part of the East Sepik Province
(ESP) (see Map 1) of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It will show how
the English term "Sorcery" must be considered in a broad sense in
order to take account of phenomena such as sanguma and
witchcraft. It will note the great diversity that exists, even within
the limited area covered by the study. Having described the context,
and then Sorcery in its various forms, then the social implications

55

Map 1. East Sepik Provincial map

56

today, the question is raised as to how Christian churches can
understand and best respond. Sorcery and Christian faith are inimical
at the level of practice, yet, as indicated by the example above, they
may co-exist conceptually. Christian faith seeks a life of harmony
and promotes ways to counter the jealousy and fear associated with
Sorcery.

Here we use the term Sorcery (capitalised) to refer to a wide range
of magical procedures that seek to influence events. How this term
relates to concepts such as sanguma and witchcraft will be explored
further in section 5 below.

2. Method

Following a review of relevant literature, the writers visited the ESP
on two occasions - in May-June 2006 and May- June 2007 spending
a total of five weeks in the field. Josepha Junnie Wailoni comes
from Belegel village, some 15km West ofYangoru. The visit in 2006
focused on the Arapesh speaking people in Belegel and nearby
villages.

While conducting in-depth investigations among the Plains Arapesh
the researchers were continually reminded of the diversity of belief
and practice in other parts of the Sepik. Consequently, the second
visit took in a broader field of study to include groups along the
Sepik Highway as far as Drekikir and Aresili, returning to Wewak
via Kunjingini near Maprik, then Wingei, Yangoru, Turingi, and
Urigembi. The researchers also walked from Yangoru over the
Prince Alexander Range to Alitoa where Margaret Mead had lived
for eight months among the Mountain Arapesh (Gibbs and Wailoni
2008).

The principal method in the field was to identify key persons in a
given community and to conduct and record personal interviews
with the help of a question guide. There were also focus group
interviews with church and health workers. The study is limited to
sites in the hill country between Wewak and Drekikir (see Map 2).

57

It does not include coastal communities, the Sepik River or the
mountain peoples south of the Sepik. 1 Being from the region, Josepha
Wailoni was able to establish good contacts, however there were
times, particularly when dealing with sanguma, when interviewees
did not want information given to women. In such cases only men
were present for the interviews and this paper will not describe
details of some rituals and practices in deference to the wishes of
these men. The research team conducted 5 1 interviews with over
80 persons during the two visits to the ESP and in follow up
discussions in Port Moresby. Interviewees in villages belonged to
various Christian churches or to no church at all. All interviews
were recorded and transcribed. 2 On a delicate issue, such as Sorcery,
it could be that people might respond along the lines of, "We don't
do that but those people over there do." However, we encountered
very few responses of that kind and we feel confident that those
we spoke to were honestly responding to our enquiries.

The paper benefits from insights of functionalism, modernism, post-
modernism and other recent theories, yet the main focus of the
paper will be missiological, linking faith questions with a
phenomenological approach based on ethnographic enquiry.

Kairiru Is

TORRICEILI MOUNTAINS

Dagua'

^b ft *^~^vMishu Is

Arapesh prince Alexander mountains
Language

(Wewak

• Aresili,'

Drekikir

Belegel/
• /

Boiken
Language

Maprik

Abelam
Language

Yangoru

Wingei

• Urigembi

Km 10 20 30

Language
Border

Kunjingini

Turingi

Map 2. Research Area in the East Sepik Province

58

3. The Context: People and Place

3.1 Geography : The East Sepik Province occupies 43,700 km 2 in
the northwest of PNG. The northern part of the province is dominated
by the Wewak coastal plains and islands, the Torricelli Range and
the Prince Alexander Range. South of these mountains is a large
area of hill country that stretches from Drekikir in the west, to
Angoram in the east. The middle of the province covers the plains,
floodplains, swamps and lakes of the Sepik River and its tributaries.
The Sepik Valley is around 80 km wide and 320 km long. South of
the Sepik Valley are the rugged mountains of the Central Range,
which extend into Enga Province and the Southern Highlands. The
east of the ESP province consists of the mouth of the Sepik River
and large areas of coastal swamp around the Murik Lakes. Altitude
varies from sea level to over 3000 m on the Central Range (Hanson
et al: 2006). The six districts in ESP are Ambunti-Drekikir, Angoram,
Maprik, Wewak, Wosera-Gawi, and Yangoru-Saussia. According
to the year 2000 census there were 343 ,181 persons in the province.
Ethnographic data in this study is drawn from investigations in
communities in five out of the six districts of the province.

3.2 Languages

As shown in the map above, the study site covers two major language
groups of the Torricelli Phylum: Boikin and Abelam languages in the
East and South and the Arapesh and Urat languages in the West.
There are over ninety languages in the province, but the languages
of the study site are first languages for a major part of the population
of the ESP. Tok Pisin is the second principal lingua franca in the
Province and is spoken by the vast majority of the Sepik people.
Most of the interviews for this study were conducted in Tok Pisin.

3.3 Economy and lifestyle

The Sepik Highway runs from Wewak to Maprik through the areas
which have the highest population densities in the province (Hanson
et al: 207). People in the hills, between Drekikir and Yangoru, and
on the coast and islands around Wewak, live within four hours' travel
of Maprik or Wewak. Average incomes in the ESP are relatively

59

low with the majority of the population working in non-monetary
activities such as gardening or fishing for their own use (National
Census 2000, Table DIB). People around Drekikir, Maprik and
Yangoru earn moderate incomes from the sale of cocoa, coffee and
fresh food.

Those in the Sepik Valley and on the Wewak Coast earn low incomes
from minor sales of fresh food, fish, cocoa and betel nut. There was
a boom in sales of vanilla in the first years of the new millennium
but this was short-lived. Cocoa is the main cash earning activity in
the hill country where most villages have at least one fermentary.

However, the marketing of cocoa is constrained by poor road
maintenance. Despite a large migrant population outside the province,
little money is remitted back to rural villages (Hanson et al: 209).
There are no large-scale resource extraction industries in the
province. Most people live by subsistence gardening of yam, taro
and sago, supplemented by various other foods such as bananas,
coconut and introduced vegetables like tomato and beans.

Outside of the small "towns" like Yangoru and Maprik and well
developed mission stations such as Kunjingini, people live in villages
that range from hamlets with just a few homes, to large communities,
such as Ilahita with over 2,000 inhabitants (Tuzin 1997: 53).
Settlements are often on the crest of ridges on an area totally cleared
of all grass and vegetation - what Tuzin describes as "swept tidiness
verging on bleakness" (Tuzin 1976: 9). Land is held by patricians,
though clan members may be scattered over a broad area in different
hamlets or villages.

Relations are generally classified according to the "Iroquois" system:
mother's brother is "uncle" with his children called "cousin brother"
or "cousin sister". New forms of leadership follow the system of
Local Level Government with Wards and Ward Councillors.
However, councillors often have little power or credibility unless
they exhibit qualities of traditional leadership such as business
acumen or the ability to establish social relationships. Traditionally

60

in this area men's reputations depend greatly on their expertise as
yam growers. Women have children - men grow yams.

3.4 Health and Education Services

The ESP province is well supplied with educational institutions
including: 1 10 Primary Schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 1 National High
School, 1 Teachers' Training college, and various other Vocational
schools, Bible colleges, Seminaries, etc. In 2002, fifty four percent
of students in primary education were at schools administered by
churches. The existence of schools does not ensure the quality of
education, nor does it mean that teachers and students will adopt a
scientific-medical view of illness and death.

The ESP has many health institutions including clinics, Aid Posts,
Health Centres, Hospitals, and VCT & Day Care Centres. Other
services are provided for the disabled by Callan Services. Of these,
25 health centres and 23 Aid Posts, Callan services and most of the
VCT & Day Care Centres are administered by the churches. It
continues to be difficult to maintain health services in isolated rural
areas of the Province. As will be noted further in this paper, Western
medicine may be seen as having little relevance for sik bilongples
(sicknesses perceived as having a social or spiritual cause, including
Sorcery).

3.5 Changes

The Sepik River was the main route for migration and trade into the
Highlands for thousands of years. Austronesian traders had contact
with the Sepik Coastal areas from 4,000 years ago (Rynkiewich
2004: 28). As early as 1887 the German steamer Samoa navigated
380 miles up the Sepik River. By 1910 the lower Sepik was already
a source of plantation workers, though there was little contact or
control over the inland, non-riverine populations. The Sepik was
first explored by a Hamburg museum expedition 1908-10, then by
the German border-marking expedition of 1 9 1 0, and more thoroughly
by Richard Thurawald for a joint expedition by German museums
during 1912- 14. 3 Thurnwald passed near what is present-day
Maprik. In 1912 Catholic missionaries Fr Eberhard Limbrock and

61

Fr Franz Kirschbaum patrolled the Torricelli Ranges into the area
near Yangoru (Limbrock 1913). Some missionaries left valuable
ethnographic observations (Puff 1926; Gerstner 1934, 1937, 1952,
1963; Aufenanger 1972, Gesch 1985, Schroeder 1992). The area
came under Australian rule after the First World War only for this to
change with the Japanese occupation during the Second World War.
After the extensive damage during the war there followed a time of
rapid change with education, health and socio-economic
development. Cultural change was noted by a number of post-war
scholars including Forge (1971), Tuzin (1976), Brison (1992, 1995),
Leavitt (1989), Stephenson 1995, and Koczberski and Curry (1999).

These changes could be very traumatic for the people. Bryant Allen
has noted the increased adult death rates in various epidemics
(smallpox, dysentery, influenza) - the unintended consequences of
colonialism. He estimates that WWII caused a 20-30% reduction in
the population (Allen 1989: 50). For most village men and women,
diagnosis of illness depends more on the recent activities of the
patient and his or her social position than on any symptoms. Allan
argues that with increased death rates these people's world became
more unpredictable and they seemed to lose control over illness. So
they adopted new forms of Sorcery and Sorcery divination to better
protect themselves in what seemed to them to be an increase in the
level of Sorcery activity.

4. Worldview and Traditional Beliefs

4. 1 Traditional Beliefs .

Sorcerers are by no means the only cause of sickness and death.
There are believed to be various spirit beings, some of them able to
cause illness or misfortune if ignored or disrespected. There is some
variation in the area covered by this study, however, for example,
Arapesh refer to masalai (walehas), bush spirits (ahiweim) and
dwarves (maulehem, bonobanom) that can cause sickness or death
if disturbed or if people do not announce themselves when entering
their territory. There are also ghosts of the recent dead (segebehas)
around village graveyards and ancestral spirits (bahlohim, bahas)

62

responsible for the well-being of the clan. 4 Success and blessing
depend on good social relations with the living and harmony between
the living and the dead.

The cassowary assumes great mythic importance in the area and a
cassowary woman is believed to be the first ancestor of the Arapesh
and other groups in the area (Mead 2002: 262; Tuzin 1980, 1997).
The bones of the cassowary woman are thought to be the source of
the first yams (Mead 2002: 252-3). While the the origin myths
involving the cassowary appear to be benevolent, there is a malevolent
dimension to the cassowary in the haus tambaran with the use of
cassowary bones and the "muruk (cassowary) stone" in the practice
of sanguma, as will be explained further in this paper in section 5.

In myths and legends, certain aspects of the environment such as
trees or rocks are believed to have been formed by a primeval
cassowary or other supernatural forces. The land belongs to the
ancestors, so whatever grows or lives on it must be cherished and
be passed on to others who will come to care for the environment in
future generations. Yet, there are dangerous, harmful places also.
These masalai places will be deep water holes, quicksands and
bogs, dark forests, silent waters, areas with big rocks or other unusual
environmental features. Usually the masalai inhabiting that spot is
named and regarded as the special masalai of that place. Mead
says that belief in witches is "food for fancy and casual superstitious
practice" (Mead 2002: 279) whereas belief in masalais is "the
cornerstone of the religious system" (Mead 2002: 279). A man
addresses the ancestors but it is the masalai who punish him if he
fails to do so. The masalais and ancestral spirits protect the hunting
ground, the gardens, and the water holes and the masalais punish
those who don't observe the required taboos such as the taboo against
menstruating women visiting a waterhole. Punishment will most likely
result in sicknesses or trouble.

A person's well-being depends not on the person alone but on
relationships with other persons and with the spirits. That is a reason
why people try to maintain good relations within their families and

63

with neighbours, fulfilling their social obligations and observing taboos.
To neglect these relationships and obligations risks illness or
misfortune. People are believed to have a "soul" or life force (win
or tewel in Tok Pisin) that can leave the body during dreaming and
which departs from the body permanently at death. Some malevolent
beings and sorcerers have power to capture a person's soul and in
that way cause the person to suffer or die.

4.2 Rituals and Ma gic

Magic, usually involving spells and/or herbs or charms can range
from love magic or spells to make pigs or gardens grow, to more
malicious forms that may cause illness such as diarrhoea, boils,
deformities etc, or even death. People distinguish magic from
witchcraft and other destructive rituals such as Sorcery. Sorcery
requires the observance of special taboos, but magic normally does
not.

Magical charms consist of a set of names and a series of verbal
statements which are repeated. People offer no explanation for the
meaning of the names and simply say they are sacred. Those who
practise magic have to be wary lest the practitioner become the
victim of his or her own magic. For instance, a man's own children
may become sick if they walk or jump over the place where magic
implements are stored. Magic can be powerful or dangerous and
must be used with caution lest it result in unwanted consequences.

Manuguh is a magic spell used by the Arapesh said to cause various
kinds of illness such as paralysis, diarrhoea, urinating blood, boils on
any part of the body, having hookworms in the stomach, deformities
of the limbs, body shakings, the protruding of the intestine out of the
anus, and continuous bleeding in women. A coconut or betelnut tree
may have a spell put on it. Once a person comes to collect nuts
from the bespelled tree, he or she comes under this spell.

The person making magic can drink strong-tasting lemon juice
(muchubun) to become "hot" so that the spell will take effect quickly.
To reverse the effect of the spell, the victim would have to find the

64

person responsible for the magic and apologise or do something so
that the magic will be removed. Manuguh is not Sorcery. There
are no taboos or other procedures to be observed when applying
this spell.

4.3 Cargo movements

There have been a "plethora" of cargo cult movements throughout
the Sepik area (Gesch 1985: 126). Gesch provides details about the
Mt Turun movement in the 1960s and 70s and refers to
documentation on earlier movements by Bryant Allan (Gesch 1 985:
121) (See also Allan 1989: 63). Gesch quotes Fr Willie Morman as
telling elders around Negri e-Yangoru, "If you drop sorcery, and cease
disputing, then the good times will surely come" (Gesch 1 985: 126).
Some informants told us how they believed missionary priests would
visit cemeteries to talk to the dead and receive money in return.

4.4 Mission influence

Early Catholic missionaries from the Society of the Divine Word
landed on Tumleo Island on the north coast near present-day Aitape
in 1 896, to be joined by the Holy Spirit Sisters in 1 899. Fr. Eberhard
Limbrock and Fr Franz Kirschbaum patrolled near our research
area in 1912. There are other patrol reports from 1926 and 1933
(Gibbs and Wailoni 2008: 151). Young men were brought to the
coast for training as catechists. Intensive mission expansion came
only after WWII. At that stage other mission groups such as the
South Seas Evangelical Mission (SSEM) and the Assemblies of God
were also working in the area. Most early missionaries denounced
magic and Sorcery as being mere superstition. The Catholic
missionaries, aided by anthropologists such as Andreas Gerstner
(1934, 1937, 1952, 1963), tended to promote scientific views, whereas
missions such as the SSEM attributed Sorcery to local spirits taking
possession of individuals at the behest of the Devil (Allen 1 989: 50).

Today people express their appreciation for mission education and
health services. Yet, some people are loath to remain in the ward of
a mission hospital away from the protection of their families and
vulnerable to the attack of evil forces. People wear medals and

65

carry rosary beads like charms against evil and the holy water is
popular for keeping evil forces including Sorcerers away. One
Catholic woman told how sorcerers, knowing that she defends her
property with holy water, avoid coming near her house lest their
power go "cold".

4.5 Attitudes to Sickness and death

Because of the integral nature of relationships with the cosmos, the
spirit world and other human beings, people seek an explanation in
terms of relationships when things go wrong.

Stephen Leavitt explains the Bumbita preference for imputing
explicitly malicious motives rather than regarding illness or dying as
a natural consequence of living (Leavitt 1989: 323, 367). People do
not "simply die". Because of their understanding that an individual's
well-being depends ultimately on the mutual assistance and caretaking
among family members, "simply dying" would imply neglect. So
bereaved family members search for other explanations. Mead,
writing in the 1930's says that theoretically, all deaths, even the
deaths of the very old are laid to sorcery" (Mead 2002: 242).

However, today people have more options to explain sickness and
death. A woman with nursing training said that she looks for signs to
distinguish between "ordinary" deaths and those caused by
sanguma. Nevertheless, even when it is known that a person has
died from pneumonia or cancer the question still arises as to why
the victim contracted pneumonia or cancer when other people did
not. In so-called accidents like a fall from a tree, snake bite or a car
accident it is thought that the victim has been sorcerised or
bewitched. 5 Even in the case of a violent death through a spear or
bullet it is believed that the instrument would not find its mark unless
the victim had been sorcerised or bewitched.

In October 2008 a young man from Belegel was killed in a knife
attack (The National 7 Nov. 2008: 10). The killing was ostensibly
because the young man had cut down coffee trees planted by
someone else. However, people think that the real target was the

66

young man's father, and that someone has worked posin on him
and the killing of his son was inevitable since the father was a marked
man because of posin. Killing the son was a way to hit back at the
father.

Once one is marked by posin the only certainty is that misfortune
or death will happen, not how it will happen. A young man was hired
by another village to teach a cultural dance to young people there.
Later in the evening they drank some beer and he collapsed and
died beside the fireplace in the house of a friend. His family pointed
to a burn mark on his chest and suspected that someone had mixed
weed killer with the beer and he had been poisoned by the weed
killer. The family does not believe the news that an autopsy was
Cancelled because the inner organs were "already decomposed".
When people reflected back on the young man's actions and
relationships they realised that he had died beside the fire in the
very house where he had caused trouble by defecating in the fireplace
two years before. This must have been how people obtained his
"specimen", and also gave them a motive for working posin as
Sorcery, so that he became a marked man leading to his death through
poison by weedkiller.

If a person is sick for a long time and medical personnel can't find
a solution, people will conclude that it is "sik bilongples" with the
cause of the illness located in social relations. Koczberski and Curry,
writing about the Wosera Abelam near Kunjingini note how ancestral
spirits, witchcraft and magic including sorcery "are all important
elements of everyday life believed to influence the behaviour, well-
being and health of individuals and groups (Koczberski and Curry
1999:237).

A person told us how after an argument over him receiving shell
money, "they paid the sanguma to make me sick. I went to the
hospital but I was not healed. I then returned to the village and gave
them some money and after that I got well. I gave the money to
those concerned and said that I want this worry to be straightened
so that I won't be sick anymore".

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5. What is Sorcery, Sanguma and Witchcraft?

Applying general terms in any cultural complex is problematic. This
applies to terms such as "sorcery", "poison", "witchcraft", and
"sanguma". In its wider sense, Sorcery is the use of magical power
to influence events. The Papua New Guinea Sorcery Act (1976)
distinguishes between "innocent" sorcery that is protective or
curative and "evil" sorcery which is intended to produce harmful
results. 6 In common parlance sorcery is thought to bring about illness,
death or misfortune. However, as will be shown in examples from
the Arapesh, good fortune may be sought also. 7

Researchers often distinguish between sorcery involving contagious
magic, and assault sorcery; the former utilising malevolent actions
on the "leavings" of a person, the latter involving direct physical
harm to the person. Writing on witchcraft among the Azande in
West Africa, Edward Evans-Prichard distinguished sorcery and
witchcraft in terms of the former using techniques of magic, while
the later uses hereditary psycho-physical powers (Evans-Prichard
1937:387). Leonard Glick provides a similar distinction while writing
for Papua and New Guinea, "A sorcerer's capacity to harm ...
depends on his ability to control extrinsic powers; whereas a witch,
who can inflict sickness or death on others simply by staring at
them or willing evil on them, possesses powers inherited or acquired
as an intrinsic part of his or her person" (Glick 1973:182).

Sanguma is a form of sorcery in which the sanguma person is
thought to become invisible and force a harmful object or inject a
harmful substance into the victim so that they get sick and/or die. In
some places the sanguma is thought to take animal form. 8

The term "poison" also can have several meanings. One, closer to
the standard English use of the term, refers to a toxic substance
which if ingested will cause sickness or death. 9 At other times the
term posin is used as a Tok Pisin expression for Sorcery. In Pidgin
usage in the Sepik today, the term posin most often refers to the
"leavings" or doti or "specimen" of a person (what Margaret Mead

68

terms "exuviae", using latinate vocabulary), bound up in a packet of
leaves, which will be used in the practice of Sorcery.

In the Sepik, sorcerers are not sangumas. Sorcerers are real men
who learn their trade "hands on". Sangumas are humans who during
an extended period of initiation are said to learn the ability to take on
spirit form to become invisible. Finer distinctions may be made using
terms from the local language, however, because we are dealing
with multiple languages, in this paper we use the capitalised term
"Sorcery" as an English term for the whole complex, and the Tok
Pisin terms posin man, sanguma man and sanguma meri to refer
to sorcery using contagious magic, males involved in assault sorcery
and females involved in assault sorcery or "witchcraft" respectively. 10

6. Wokim Posin

Talk about posin is part of everyday life for the Plains Arapesh.
However, such talk takes on greater importance if there is a prolonged
sickness, a sudden death, or some other tragedy. Posin provides an
explanation for such happenings even among those with a tertiary
education. Some Christians think of misfortunes as "punishment from
God", but in the church context most remain silent, because they
suspect that the talk of posin might well be true.

Plains Arapesh identify three different types of sorcery which they
call posin. These are ouhluh wichang and atiglineige (Gibbs and
Wailoni 2008). Ouluh refers to the bundled specimen consisting of
"leavings" that is used in the main act of posin. Wichang is linked
to the aformentioned posin. It is optional and can bring both
benevolent and malevolent effects. Atiglineige is an optional practice
for capturing the "soul" or spirit of the victim. These types of Sorcery
or posin should be distinguished from other magical practices such
as putting people's specimens in masalai places and in a wild taro
plant (known to cause an itchy skin reaction). A sorcerer may
perform such magic but this is not Sorcery. Sorcery as posin among
the Arapesh involves a complex procedure requiring taboos and
using special substances with the intention that the victim will become

69

ill and in many cases - die. Materials used in posin include genital
fluids, remains of food, clothes or pieces of cloth that have deposits
of perspiration on them, mustard that has been used for chewing or
betel nut husks that have saliva on them, nail parings or anything
else that is believed to have been somehow part of a person. The
most effective specimens used in such posin are genital fluids. The
use of material that has been part of a person can be a source of
suspicion and fear below the surface of everyday life. One has to
be cordial to everybody because one never knows whether an
offended person might already have taken your posin (materials
such as those listed above) and could pass it on to a posin man
(yowepineim). It also helps motivate people to maintain good
relations and for parents to teach children about the obligations that
they will be expected to fulfil throughout their lifetime. They also
tell them of the places they should not visit "because a posin man
lives there". Any accumulated wealth is to be used for feasts, bride
price, etc. Failure to do so may bring dire consequences. One never
knows the consequences of conflict. For example an argument with
one's mother could lead to mother's brother having a reason to give
your specimen to the posin men. The researchers noted that this
also makes for very clean villages, with no food scraps or rubbish
lying around as is common in some other parts of PNG.

The materials collected must be kept in a dry place, away from
water, from menstruating women, and certain plants. Mead identified
other examples of such materials as well as those that it is not
possible to use for posin (Mead, 1940:44). The symptoms
experienced by the victim are affected by the material that has
been used in posin. For instance, head pains are associated with
hair having been used as a specimen, and so on. The materials
collected are then bound into small bundles with nettle leaves. Other
special leaves that cause itchiness such as giglagih, and a type of
fern called sehleoh are also used. Such leaves are believed to cause
irritating effects on the sorcerised victim.

The bundled specimen(s) is/are hung over a fire to be smoked. This
may take six days to six months or even longer depending on how

70

quickly the posin men want the victim or victims to suffer, get sick
or die. The heating is usually done either in an isolated location in
the forest or in a hidden location such as a cave. Those who practise
Sorcery usually work in a group. There is somebody responsible for
heating the specimen and there is a guard or guards who are on the
lookout and somebody who will actually "kill" the specimen. Posin
men must observe certain taboos. For instance, they must not bathe
or drink water. If one smokes he must do it away from the fire. The
person who is heating the specimen or tending the fire must have
someone special to look after him. This person should be single.
Married men stay apart from their wives at this time lest they
become "cold". Above all, posin men must stay away from wamileb
plants lest which have a strong "cooling" effect.

Ahih is a red powder used with the ouluh in sorcery practice to
make the person become sick and die. One interviewee explained
how the ouluh is like a car and the ahih the battery which provides
power so that the car will start. Ahih is lime made from burning the
leg bones of a warrior or a man who was feared. The bones are
burned until they are reduced to ashes. This ahih is made by
specialists and usually stored in bamboos to be used with the ouluh.
Sap from a vine is mixed with the lime to make it turn a red colour.
(More recently some sorcerers use red paint bought from stores in
Wewak.) Sago thorns (wehas), a sewing needle or a sharp piece of
coconut broom are dipped into the ahih and thrust into the bundled
specimen (ouluh). A storm with thunder and lightning occurring
soon after this act is seen as a sure sign that the ahih has been
effective in powering the specimen.

While the specimen is being heated spells are used to lure the soul
or life force (miching) of the victim to the fire for it to be physically
killed. To "kill the poison" means to lay the bound specimen on a
piece of wood and beat it with a hard instrument. As he beats the
specimen, the posin man will call the name of the victim's clan
(similar to the way a clan name is called when a pig is delivered to
a village for a feast). Then the specimen is hammered and thrown
into a container. Calling the name is thought to attract the miching

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of the victim. To have an animal such as a lizard or an insect
appearing will be seen as embodying the miching of the victim. The
posin man will call the name of the victim and ask this animal or
insect to enter a container such as a piece of bamboo. Once trapped
inside, the miching, which is the "soul" or life force of the person,
will then be treated just like the specimen and "killed". Healing can
only take place if the animal or insect representing the miching of
the victim is released. Once the miching is released, the specimen
is put in the water where it becomes "cold" and loses its power to
be used again in sorcery. The posin men must undergo purification
rituals, lest they be haunted by the ghost of the victim(s).

Wichang and atiglineige are optional practices accompanying
sorcery using ouhluh. Wichang is swung in a circular motion over
the container containing the heated specimen. The victim's name is
called and requests made for things that people desire. For instance,
if there is a land dispute, a request will be made for one party to
leave the village for good. Wichang might also be used to convince
a pig owner to accept a cheap offer and sell it willingly. It serves
other purposes as well such as motivating people to contribute to
bride price or for winning court cases or cancelling them. Wichang
appears to be a form of magic associated with making posin,
however, the Arapesh think of it as posin, not mere magic. Some
people move to towns physically far away from the ESP. However,
physical distance and cultural distance are not the same and it is
believed that posin and wichang performed in the ESP can affect
people living anywhere in PNG or even overseas.

Atiglineige is used to capture the miching of those whose specimens
cannot be collected through "leavings". The posin man has to drink
bitter lemon juice to become "hot" before performing atiglineige.
A small piece of wild taro stalk or the red coconut tree root
{many ibel) is put on a path normally used by the victim so he or she
will step over it enabling the sorcerer to capture his or her miching.
The object stepped over is secured and rubbed with the same red
lime (ahih) used with a specimen. It is believed that the victim will
die when the atiglineige is brought to be hammered at the fireplace

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and thrown in the container used for posin. Accompanied by
wichang, posin men can put in requests for the manner in which
the victim will die.

Posin men have a reputation but no status. However, some
established leaders are suspected of having knowledge of Sorcery
and links with posin men. The posin man is hired and paid. One
informant said that he supported Sorcery as it provided a good means
of income. All items used have to be bought, but the transactional
aspect is highlighted when the specimen has been heated and the
miching captured. Money (traditionally suluh shell rings) is brought
with other requests for what they want the Wichang to do for them.
The posin man expects payment before the specimen is killed. If
relatives of the victim discover in time, they can pay to have the
miching of the victim released. The payment will only be one part
of a process that will involve reconciliation, making amends and
other necessary peace settlements.

In 1993, the sitting member of parliament Hon John Jaminan decided
to act against the posin men because he felt that they were causing
people to become ill and that they were an obstacle to development
in the district. He says, "I saw it (posin) as an evil act and so I had
to move to protect the lives of many people against this evil. . . .
Sorcery is one of the forces that gets humans down and stops human
development." He called in a squad of police from outside the
province who went from village to village throughout West Yangoru
to find out who were the posin men in each village. They rounded
them up, forced them to hand in any implements they had. ' ' Jaminan
lost the subsequent election, but is still proud of what he did. He
claims: "I have never feared Sorcerers and I have never been
attacked by sorcerers of any kind."

7. Sanguma man

Sorcery as sanguma is not practised in the West Yangoru District,
though sanguma men from other areas sometimes visit the area.
We encountered sanguma men in the area around Urigembi and
further west of Maprik around Drekikir. Like posin, sanguma

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provides an explanation for such illness, death and misfortune. Most
Christians are fearful of it, and try to preserve good relations so that
they will not be the target of sanguma.

Traditionally all men underwent initiation in which, amongst other
things, a man was taught to bleed his penis for purposes of
purification {waswas). Part of the blood was saved in a coconut
shell to become his "bodyguard" to warn its owner in case of danger.
Sanguma men undergo a further lengthy initiation marked by
confinement, food taboos, and rituals involving drinking of body fluids
from the dead. Concoctions are made from fermenting various plants
and insects including a mushroom or fungus found deep in the forest
(Stephenson 2001: 191) along with the umbilical cord or placenta
from a newly born child (the woman is paid). I2 The mixture is heated,
and ashes and this mix will be used to give sanguma men magical
powers. In ingesting the lime-like ashes they are said to "eat
sanguma".

Some of the mixture is kept as a liquid and this is said to have the
power to "close the ears" of the sanguma men (they are deaf to
any call to change their mind) so they are like possessed persons
who can kill. In fact, in a sense, they are empowered by the spirit of
the dead coming from the liquid or powder ingested. Rubbing the
liquid on their skin is said to make them invisible. 13 They must follow
certain taboos such as not sleeping with wives or eating food
prepared by women, not holding a child, avoiding certain types of
bananas and abstaining from cold water and from cassowary
meat. 14 The initiands go out for their "practical" work which is to
kill a child or a pregnant woman. People interviewed said that the
death of young children and pregnant women is "proof that initiation
still takes place. Sanguma men described their going out to kill as
being like going to "fight". Sanguma attack is a physical attack,
usually by a group of sanguma men. During the attack the victim is
rendered unconscious and a poisonous liquid poured into their mouth
or injected into them in some other way. They are left to regain
consciousness and make their way home but they have changed,

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and, if not given an antidote, will die within a few days. A woman
described such an attack.

"In June 1999 I was attacked by sanguma men who were
out on their practical. I went outside the house and the
sanguma men called me over to them. When I reached
them, they told me to lift up my hand and they injected
me. After that they sent me back to the house. Back in the
house I went straight to sleep. In the morning I saw them
standing next to the toilet. Again they called me over and
asked if I had any bananas in the house. I quickly came
back and cooked some bananas over the fire. When no
one was looking, I took the bananas to them in the nearby
bushes next to the village and they ate. I was told that in
the early hours of the next morning around 6 o 'clock I
was to start an argument with my husband. I was to get a
knife and attack him and he would use the knife to kill
me. I did as I was told. I visited the relatives and came
back and slept. Early the next morning I started arguing
with my husband and he saw that I had tucked the knife
next to where I was sleeping. He quickly wrestled with me
to get the knife but I was holding on to it tightly. For
some reason, he thought he should use a pin to prick me
because I was behaving so strangely. So he got a pin and
pushed it into my upper arm. I didn 't feel anything, nor
did I scream from pain as the pin sank deeper into my
arm. That confirmed his suspicion that something was
wrong. He then called out and his cousin and his wife
came to see what was happening and confirmed that I
had been attacked by the sanguma. My unusual behaviour
and the pin going through my skin without causing pain
or drawing blood made it clear to them that I had suffered
an attack by the sanguma. They quickly searched for
someone to give me some herbs. I had not been eating the
food given to me, especially food with protein and that is
another sign of a sanguma attack. They went and cut a
special bush vine and extracted the sap. They then blew

75

the sap into coconut liquid and gave it to me to drink.
After that, I must have slept for some minutes and then I
woke up. They asked me to recount the experience. I told
them that there were six men who attacked me. They
attacked me because they were new recruits out on
training and so tested their power on me. They confused
me with lime and then any instructions given by them were
followed. Those that are diagnosed quickly are saved but
others usually die. J could have died but because I drank
the herbs the process was interrupted. They came back
to check if everything had happened according to plan
on that same evening I was cured. My tambu s wife was
in the toilet at that time. They came and surrounded her.
Somehow the village men expected it so they shouted and
ran towards them and the sanguma men disappeared. They
are like spirits and can trick people easily. I had been
very rude to people while under the influence of the
sanguma. My own father was so embarrassed that he went
and stayed at another village. He could not believe that I
would behave the way I did. But he didn 't know that it
was the sanguma which was controlling me. After it was
found out, I was forgiven. "

The story above is typical of many stories we heard about sanguma
attack: ingestion of a liquid which gives them power over a person,
antisocial behaviour, refusal to eat meat or to drink liquids, divination
using a pin and (in fortunate cases) a herbal antidote (which usually
induces vomiting). 15

In the account above the sanguma men are said to have been out
on their "practical" and during that period can target people at
random. Usually they are hired to settle personal grievances. !ft We
heard a case where men were angry with another man so they
hired sanguma to kill his sister so as to hurt him. Normally sanguma
will not kill for no reason. They only kill when one has wronged
someone and that person hires them to come and kill you or a loved
one. So, we were told, "it is best to solve any conflicts and problems

76

with other people quickly before they resort to using sanguma."
We found differences between sanguma in Urigembi and in Drekikir.
In Urigembi the sanguma use a "muruk stone" to point or swing at
a person in order to disorient them or render them unconscious.
Sanguma men are known as maienduo (literally: sanguma man).
The head sanguma is known as a yamianduo (literally: muruk/
cassowary man).

Around Drekikir, spirit men are called arukwine (a term from the
Warn language referring to a powerful mushroom). They are
believed to have the power to assume the form of animals. There
men described to us the use of a sanguma "spear". The spear,
which is a short piece of bamboo or hollowed out human or
cassowary bone, is charged with lemon juice and the lime made
from the decayed matter from dead bodies is thrown over the shoulder
of the sanguma man as he calls the name of the victim (Stephenson
2001: 193). We were also told that the sanguma man throws a
dead man's finger bone in the direction of the victim.

Sanguma are said to prey on the weak. Many people told stories of
how they must watch carefully over the sick, especially those in
hospital, lest a sanguma assume the form of the sick person and
take their place while the real sick person is taken away to die at
the hands of the sanguma men. There are other precautions taken
such as having a menstruating woman jump over a new grave to
discourage sanguma men from coming to exhume the body.
Sanguma men who were spoken to said they did not intend to pass
their knowledge on to their children. Sanguma might have a positive
dimension in acting as a "policeman" in society, but they thought it is
too dangerous and did not want to end up with empty villages. Yet,
the belief continues, as one man said, "Indai i stap. Sanguma i stap"
(There is death [so] there is sanguma).

8. Sanguma meri

While staying in the villages of West Yangoru, people would often
refer to sanguma meri at Wingei, not far distant, but across the
border from Arapesh-speaking people into Abelam-speaking territory.

77

They were said to be very different from the Arapesh posin men.
Abelam sanguma meri are called kwutakwa in the local language.
They are real women who have the power in their spirit form to
appear as animals, to pass through solid walls and to fly. Reputedly
they feast on the bodies of the dead. They are not malicious in the
sense of attacking people for no reason. Indeed, it is said that
previously they used to assist men to win in battles. However, today
they may well harm someone who would offend them, and in
particular someone who would make them feel jealous. One woman
said how she had been proud of her large productive garden. She
would share food crops with some but not others. One night a pig
broke through the fence and did a great deal of damage to her
garden. She believes that the pig was really a sanguma woman
who was envious of her garden and upset that she was not given
food from it, so this person took the form of a pig and destroyed it.

Another woman said how fearful she was because her husband
earns a wage and people see them returning from town with bought
store goods. She fears that a sanguma woman will be jealous of
their good fortune at being able to buy store goods and will do harm
to her husband or her family. She tells about one time when her
husband was returning home and he encountered a group of women
whom he suspected to be sanguma women. One of the women,
who knew his father and grandfather well, led him away, picked up
an empty beer bottle, blew into it and told him to do the same. She
then dug a hole and buried the bottle. This was a sure sign that he
should not talk about what he had seen. In fact he revealed this
encounter to his wife only after the death of the old woman. People
suspect that sanguma women are around when they see certain
birds, especially big forest birds like horabills coming to alight in
trees near a village. Flying squirrels (wasupiak or gwasalo) are
another sign of their presence. These creatures are not the
kwutakwa themselves but only a sign that the kwutakwa is around.
They also tell stories about how when a sanguma woman bathes
alone, it is possible to see the little creatures that live inside her
swimming beside her. They are like little rats and they swim alongside

78

her. After bathing they go back inside her vagina. It is said that her
strength comes from these creatures.

The power of witchcraft is thought to pass from mother to daughter.
In the night, a mother jumps over her daughter and a form of sex
takes place. The daughter is not aware but later finds out that she
has extraordinary powers. She has then to observe taboos (sakrifais,
sakrafais) for three weeks: no water aibika or pig meat. Observing
the taboos is important lest she become deranged. After that she
has to do her "practical", which might involve killing a newborn
baby or a young child.

A woman near Kunjingini told about a time when she returned at
night from a prayer meeting bringing food with her which she shared
with her son. On leaving the kitchen to throw away the leaves that
had covered the food she shone her torch on the roof and noticed a
woman there. The woman appeared to be wanting to jump down
from the roof. She continued,

"I screamed loudly. Our neighbours thought that my
husband was belting me so they did not respond.
Eventually others including my husband came and saw
her. She was a real woman who we knew. Most probably
she had wanted to fly but she must not have observed all
the taboos about not eating aibika, pig meat and so on,
so she was not able to realise her full powers. "

They helped the woman down and she gave the excuse that she
had "lost her way and got stuck on the roof." The woman telling of
the experience believes that the sanguma woman, smelling the food,
had followed her and intended to steal some but failed. Not wanting
to embarrass the woman further she apologised to her and did not
raise the matter again.

People in areas frequented by sanguma women carry a means of
protection. Some will carry a piece of ginger which is said to act as
a "security" against harm. Others put a piece of bangwi bush vine

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in their lighted torches when travelling at night so that sanguma
women can be seen. Christians use holy water. Some people have
spells that are said to cause the kwu (the small animals inside her
that give her power) to come down to the lower part of the woman's
body. This makes movement difficult because the creature will be
resting in her vagina, making it difficult to walk. She will have to sit
in one place until set free by those who have cast the spell.

Sanguma women play a significant role in the socio-spiritual universe
of people in parts of the ESP. From a functional perspective they
provide an explanation for misfortunes such as snake bite, falling
from a tree, or the death of a child. But functional explanations
cannot deal well with fears and emotions. From the viewpoint of
gender, sanguma women offer both an excuse for women to claim
power and a reason for men to blame women for misfortune. In our
interviews it was only men who spoke about having killed a suspicious
animal, only to hear the next day that a woman had died. From a
missiological angle, sanguma women challenge Christian believers
to enter into a deeper faith commitment so as to explain events in a
way that takes seriously both faith and cultural sensitivities. For
example: how should people of faith inteipret stories told in all
seriousness about lost women found on kitchen roofs at night? What
are we to think of parents instructing their children to avoid talking
to or relating to older women lest these be sanguma women? How
best should a priest or church minister officiate at a funeral of a
woman that the community believes to be a sanguma meril

9. Discerning and Countering Sorcery

In the ESP, as elsewhere, it is presumed that people do not "simply
die" and the first presumption on hearing of a death is to pursue the
cultural ideology which considers most fatal illnesses or accidents
as a symptom of Sorcery. The type of death and signs at funerals
such as the state of the body or the movement of fireflies may
provide hints as to what sort of Sorcery was involved. There are
other culturally specific rites of discernment. These include having
people step on the lower leg of the corpse and look for a sign on the

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body such as the appearance of blood (Leavitt 1995: 356) or holding
a length of bamboo which will move when the name of the Sorcerer
is called. However, the process by which Sorcery accusations are
confirmed may be lengthy and inconclusive. Symptoms at death are
not as important as social relationships and the activities of the
deceased prior to the illness or death.

The discernment may take years as relatives gain some emotional
distance and take a wider, long-term view of an event which is part
of a complex of social relationships. We encountered a number of
examples where an apparently innocent person died as a result of
revenge on a parent, brother or other close family member. For
Christians to stay detached from such intrigue risks alienating
themselves from family and their cultural ties. Death is still the most
unevangelised dimension of life in Melanesia (Gibbs 2006: 97).

Efforts to counter or protect oneself from Sorcery are commonplace.
Some Christians from Pentecostal or Revival churches are at pains
to avoid anything associated with "magic", however, Catholics tend
to have a more flexible approach when it comes to symbols or
charms. A church leader at Kunjingini said:

"We have protection such as ginger, lime and tree bark
that we use to keep them away. When we had a land
dispute with another village we planted ginger and
menstrual blood as protection on the main roads around
the village that we thought the sangumas would take. We
are also carrying tree bark as kol. This is usually chewed
with betelnut to keep the sangumas away. During the land
dispute my children were sick because of the sangumas. I
crushed the tree bark and ginger and mixed that in my
children's tea for them to drink. I sometimes crushed those
things and blew the mixture on their bodies. At other times
these things were burnt in the fire and the sick were
brought next to it so as to be smoked by the fire. This will
cool the effects of the sanguma. "

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An elderly Catholic woman said she was not afraid of sangumas
because her house was protected by holy water sprinkled liberally
around it and she felt shielded from harm by the rosary beads she
hung around her neck.

10. Attempting to Understand Sorcery

10. 1 From a medical point of view

The phenomena we have described here are difficult to explain
from a medical point of view. The leading surgeon at Boram General
Hospital in Wewak said that in her many years serving at the main
hospital she has never encountered a case of foreign objects made
of bone, bamboo or wire having been inserted into a person as
allegedly happens with sanguma (Sr Joseph Taylor. Pers.
Communication, Wewak 6 June 2007). The writers have viewed
implements taken from accused sorcerers and kept as "evidence"
by police, however there is no evidence that such items ever
"worked" from a medical-scientific point of view.

Some interviewees were of the opinion that it is helpful to have a
medical opinion:

"I had a mother at home who had liver cancer. Everybody
at home was talking about posin. Then I took her to the
hospital and in the hospital they said she had cancer. So
after that they said she had cancer. "

So, the medical explanation at times will help change the way people
talk about illness and death. They can come to understand that "Sik
bilong em i winim marasin" (The illness is not able to be cured by
medication). However, there are also cases where a person is sick
- they look sick and feel sick, but then all the medical tests don't
reveal anything. Medically there is no explanation. That is when
people will start talking about "sik bilong pies" and about sorcery.

Bernard Narokobi, in a paper prepared for the Law Reform
Commission of Papua New Guinea (1978) is of the opinion that "it

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is futile to try to establish scientifically whether sorcery works as it
is reputed to do, or whether it is all a hoax instigated by big and self-
seeking men as a way to hold others down" (Law Reform
Commission 1978: 14). He says that sorcery helps establish the
reason for the happening of an event, whether there is a medical
explanation or not. Sorcery reaches beyond the empirical since it is
also a form of "inner violence" that unleashes the inner consciousness
of people's deep fears.

10.2 From a cultural perspective

Nigel Stephenson points out that for the villagers, Sorcery is an
indisputable fact and a reality. It is undeniable that people of all ages
and both sexes die. It is also a fact, borne out by witnesses, that
some people turn their hand to Sorcery. The two fields of evidence
are connected and a causal link created. This logic is supported by
natural signs that people interpret in certain ways. For them signs,
such as lights, bird calls, etc, amount to proof of what they already
suspect is true (Stephenson 2001: 190). One person told us, "Of
course we believe in germs, but this belief in kwutakwa is in our
blood. Ninety percent of the people here know that spirits exist."

Stephen Leavitt, who worked among the Bumbita near Maprik
argues that maybe sorcery fears are entirely reasonable in societies
where people really perform Sorcery and where the cultural system
admits no readily available alternative explanation for death.
Compare, for example, Sorcery with "mugging" in America. If
Sorcery is practised and anyone can be attacked, is it not reasonable,
then, to fear it? (Leavitt 1989: 377). The same goes for mugging.
Whether or not Sorcery is involved in a particular death, there is
always a real possibility that it may be. This possibility, along with a
cultural ideology which regards most fatal illness as a symptom of
Sorcery attack, makes people's fears understandable.

Leavitt further argues that since from a cultural perspective people
do not "simply die", then accusations of sorcery defend the
deceased's close family against a fear that it might be actual
interpersonal relations among close family members that have caused

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the death. The agent of death is better located in an external
malevolent figure - the Sorcerer.

A common theme emerging through all our enquiries is jealousy.
Whether better termed envy or craving - "jealousy" could arise
from someone else being given a bigger shell ring or more money at
a public ceremony, someone having more or better land or gardens,
someone having resources to buy store goods, or a person being
given employment in preference to another. Whatever the incident
that leads to jealousy, the end result is a sense of offence and
disharmony in social relationships that leads to accusations of Sorcery.
This was the logic followed by a woman declaring that she was
wasting her time taking her child for medical attention at the clinic
while a dispute between two members of her lineage remained
unresolved (Koczberski and Curry 1999: 238).

10.3 From a Christian faith perspective

Christians believe in the non-empirical, and in spirits both good and
evil, however the way one encounters those spirits can be different
in different cultures. Stories from the New Testament have Jesus
casting out demons from people who today by Western medical
standards would be diagnosed as epileptic or bipolar (See Mark 5:1-
20). Some churches tend to follow the Biblical worldview,
understanding Sorcery as the work of Satan and sanguma men and
women as demonic.

As part of this study a group of eight Catholic priests (seven national
men from the Sepik area) responded to a questionnaire. In response
to the question: "I think the following are like the sort of demon
possession Jesus used to cast out", with a choice for them to mark
posin, sanguma or witchcraft, one marked the box for po sin, four
the sanguma box and six the box for witchcraft. Obviously the
priests see New Testament stories of casting out demons more in
terms of sanguma thanpas/w and more in terms of sanguma women
(witchcraft) than sanguma men. Some Christians approach these
phenomena from a psycho-spiritual viewpoint. From this perspective,
if one gives space to fear, then the power of evil and destructive

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thoughts and feelings can enter and nurture that fear. Faith helps
the mind control fear and jealousy, thus countering the power of evil
by goodness and love. Usually this viewpoint is complemented by a
medical perspective so that people have an alternative to posin or
sanguma for explaining sickness and death.

In our experience in the ESP most Catholics subscribe to the
prevailing cultural ideology, but combine traditional and Christian
means of dealing with it. For example they will bring ginger or tree
bark and ask the Christian prayer leaders to pray over them before
using them as protection. Sorcerers acknowledge the power of
Christian faith. When asked why his methods did not work with a
devout Christian, a posin man responded "Paia bilong mipela em
kol long emV (He made our fires cold!).

11. Social and pastoral implications

The Catholic priests were asked to complete a short questionnaire.
In their responses most agree that Sorcery as posin, sanguma and
witchcraft have power, but they feel that Christian faith is more
powerful. Yet they also agree that Sorcery poses a real threat to
people today, including Christians. All but one said he had personal
experience of at least one form of Sorcery and all said they know of
people who have had experience of Sorcery. Three said that they
knew of people in their parish who had died from Sorcery or sanguma
and the majority had been asked to pray with people or to bless
people concerned about Sorcery. One priest responded: "I personally
find it very difficult because this posin thing is deeply involved in
the culture. People practise posin to gain prestige, a big name, riches
and so forth." From the responses to the questionnaire it is apparent
that Sorcery is an issue for these churchmen.

Sorcery impacts on society in various ways. We highlight three here.
Firstly belief in Sorcery builds on threats, intimidation and distrust
and may in turn contribute to the presence of such negative social
factors. One never knows who has a specimen of yours that can be
given to posin men. People live in fear that someone will attack
them and inject them with poison. Parents tell their children, "ivb

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ken go long hap - posin man i stap" (Don't go there - a Sorcerer
is there!).

Secondly, belief in Sorcery discourages people from investing
themselves and their resources in projects that would lead to
development and human welfare. If one has more education, more
possessions, or more power, others will easily become jealous and
one may well be the target of Sorcery. Hence, it is safer to remain
with the crowd rather than to get ahead. Politics is seen as the most
effective way of getting ahead, yet there is a saying about elections
in the ESP: Wanpela man mas dai bilong opim rot long ol i
singautim spirit (A man must die for the spirit to work). People
believe that one or more people will die (from Sorcery) before there
is a winner in the election. Politics is about power and power has a
sinister dimension.

Thirdly, belief in Sorcery acts as a controlling force -- what is often
termed a "policeman" in society. Police can have both desirable
and disastrous effects. East Sepik villages appear tidy and clean
with no rubbish or food scraps. This is just one indication of how
fear of Sorcery can influence people's behaviour. It can reduce
theft, and other antisocial behaviour as well. Unfortunately, as
traditional beliefs change, some young people are bringing sanguma
beliefs into "raskolism" (criminal behaviour) and assault. Young
criminals enter into pacts with sanguma men in their attempts to
become invisible, and in turn they concoct new mixes for sanguma
from industrial waste such as old battery acid (Stephenson 1995:
192). Just as traditionally sanguma threatened to subvert village
people's existence from the inside, so now modernity with its illusion
of wealth and prosperity leaves many village people politically and
culturally disorientated and dependent (Stephenson 1995: 193).

Belief in Sorcery also has pastoral implications. We develop four
here.

Firstly, most national priests, sisters and Catholic church leaders we
spoke with think that Sorcery should not be simply ignored. It is an

86

issue to contend with pastorally and this should not be denied. One
of the priest respondents to the questionnaire - an expatriate
missionary - wrote how as a young missionary he had tried to
convince people that there was no truth to Sorcery and that their
fear was groundless. After more experience in PNG he has changed
his approach to one of helping people find strength in prayer and the
power of Christ over evil. Members of Evangelical and Pentecostal
churches tend to see Sorcerers as being in league with the Devil.
Their strong stand against Sorcery reinforces the conviction that
Sorcery should not be treated lightly.

Christian tradition has a long history of dealing with good and evil. It
is no stranger to the non-empirical world and spirits of the living and
of the dead. A national sister in Wewak spoke of the importance of
disciplining the mind and heart. She said how random thoughts and
fears can too easily leave one vulnerable to powerful outside forces
- possibly those coming from a Sorcerer. People need to learn that
if a thought or inclination comes seemingly from nowhere that they
should bring faith to bear before following through on it. This is a
discipline that a person of faith has to learn. The advice integrates
well with what Christian spirituality terms "discernment of spirits".
As people mature spiritually they become more aware of the interior
movements of their mind and heart. A "good" spirit brings one to a
peaceful and joyful decision. A "bad" spirit leads to conflict and
uneasiness. In the Catholic tradition, this discernment forms an
important part of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. In
Charismatic and Pentecostal traditions it is referred to in terms of
holy and unholy spirits discerned through the power of the Holy
Spirit. In some churches the outcome is "spiritual warfare" (Gibbs
2005: 1 8). However one may conceive of it, determining from what
spirit impulses emanate is at the heart of the pastoral advice offered
by the sister in Wewak.

Secondly, we refer back to the words of the elderly woman in the
introduction to this paper. She is of the opinion that if she loves and
respects others then she does not need to be concerned about Sorcery.
Sorcery thrives on jealousy, revenge and attempts to dominate others

87

through fear. Such attitudes are not only socially counter-productive
but are also the antithesis of the Christian love ethic. Following the
logic of her argument, if Christian evangelisation would be successful
and Christian communities became a reality there would be no need
or concern for Sorcery. Christians have a mission to proclaim the
reign of God seen in love, joy and right relations (Rom 14:17).
However, in reality, Christian teaching too often instils fear with
accusations of depravity and threats of hellfire. Following imposed
rules and performing external rituals out of fear is little different
from the way of life that Christian faith claims to supersede. A
positive pastoral approach will be liberating and will stress that as
children of the God of life we are called to live that life to the full.

Thirdly, we need alternatives to sorcery both functionally and in a
psycho-spiritual sense. Sorcery fulfils in society a function of
explaining why people die and helps people gain a sense that there
is some control over misfortune. If Sorcery is undesirable, then what
can take its place? It is one thing to have a squad of police go
around seizing lime containers and other implements from those
thought to be sorcerers, but another thing to bring about an attitude
change so that people don't wish to hire sorcerers to resolve issues.
This is where Christian "movements" can play a part in bringing
about a change of attitude. There are the Legion of Mary, Divine
Mercy, Charismatic Renewal, Bible-based evangelisation and
Pentecostal and revival movements. However, preaching about a
vengeful God may be a functional substitute for sorcery as an
explanation for misfortune, but this may have little advantage over
Sorcery from a psycho-spiritual perspective. Control by force and
fear are seldom liberating. Moreover, missionaries and church leaders
have done little as yet to develop a helpful theology of death in
PNG. What is the destiny of the ancestors? What happens to the
ghost of the deceased? Hospitals provide medicine and care, but
once a person dies, the scene abruptly changes to one dealing with
spirits of the dead and traditional obligations and taboos (Gibbs 2006:
84-88). Until Christians develop a culturally sensitive pastoral
theology of death, little will change with regards to Sorcery as an
explanation for death.

Fourthly, the future of Sorcery belief and practice depends a lot on
the education of future generations. But will education result in what
Desmond Tutu calls "religious schizophrenia"? Many young people
today feel alienated from their traditions, yet have been taught to
fear Sorcery. Sorcery beliefs left unchallenged may easily be
transformed into occult practices and "blackpower", as has happened
in some secondary schools including Passam National High School
in the East Sepik (Hayes, 2000). From the perspective of post-
Enlightenment secular education, Sorcery and witchcraft are reduced
to "a trait of primitive people which will disappear with
Westernization" (Hill 1996: 328). But history is revealing the
limitations of that perspective. Modern education has little room for
Sorcery, nor for principalities and powers that are of concern in
Paul's letter to the Colossians. Ultimately Sorcery beliefs are cultural
variations on the age-old problem of evil. It is not so much a matter
of dismissing Sorcery as mere superstition or thinking that conversion
will mean the substitution of a Christian way for the tradition. Rather,
the Christian response must be to engage with the beliefs and
practices in question so that people, young and old, can come to see
"evils" such as sickness, death and misfortune through the eyes of
faith.

Endnotes

1 The paper does not deal with beliefs from other parts of the Sepik such

as the pukpuk kanu (crocodile canoe) of the Sepik River.

2 The writers were supported by the Melanesian Institute. We also thank

all those who offered hospitality and who were willing to share their
ideas and experiences. Others helped correct earlier drafts of this paper.
Some informants requested anonymity, so names or details that might
lead to their identity will not appear in the text.

3 http://uscngp.sai.net.au/about.php (Accessed 26.12.08)

4 There are also Culture Heroes such as Unaluh and her two sons whom

people refer to during feasts and other celebrations, and a Supreme

89

being (Echoweih) who was thought to exist but has little influence in
people's lives.

5 "Sickness and death have a predominantly social component. People are

not so interested in what a person may just have died from, as they are
in who might be responsible for the death, who set off the chain of
causes resulting in that death. Someone may fall from a tree and die,
and a Warn will be quite aware that the fall caused that death. But what
is of concern to him is what, or, better put, who ultimately set off this
fall" (Translated from German. See Stephenson 1995: 1 82).

6 The Act notes that "sorcery" includes "witchcraft, magic, enchantment,

puri purl, mura mura dikana, vada, mea meet, sanguma or malira
whether or not connected with or related to the supernatural".

7 The diversity of understandings is brought out in a comment by Nigel

Stephenson about a trans-cultural sorcery mediation involving villages
from the Warn, Urat, Muhiang and Bumbita language groups after a
series of deaths in the wider area: "What made it interesting was the
fact that the participants had first to create an etiology of sorcery
because it showed that the different groups had quite diverse views
about sorcery methods and the kinds of death they produced"
(Stephenson, Personal Communication 27 December, 2008).

8 In some parts of Papua New Guinea, particularly the Highlands (Simbu),

the term "sanguma" is used for a form of witchcraft using psychic or
occult power to harm, rather than employing physical objects or
substances. For further discussion on the term "sanguma", see
McCallum2006.

9 This is the sort of poison referred to by Stephenson (2001 : 192-3) in the

form of battery acid or weedkiller.

10 We have chosen not to use the English term "witch". People have terms
in their own language for various approximations to this concept, but
when using Tok Pisin, they use the term sanguma meri.

1 1 We were told that the posin men were also forced to drink a "tea" which

unknown to them contained traces of wamileb leaves and menstrual
blood - both substances with very strong "cooling" powers.

90

1 2 One of the ingredients is from a vine that when used under water can
stun or paralyse fish so they come to the surface and can be caught
easily.

13 Allen tells of a case where this knowledge was being used by young
men in an effort to become invisible so they could break into premises
intown(Allenl989:63).

14 The spirit of the cassowary is important, especially in the Urigembi
area, hence the taboo on killing and eating it.

1 5 See Gesch 1 985: 1 93- 1 99 for discussion on the social dynamics of sorcery

and sanguma in the Yangoru area. Gesch typifies sanguma as a kind of
"bush hysteria".

1 6 If not paid properly by the man hiring them, they may end up killing that
person, who would now be indebted to them.

Some terms used

In Melanesian Pidgin:

kol
masalai

muruk
posin man
sakrafais
sanguma
sanguma man
sanguma meri
sik bilong pies
tewel
win

In Arapesh:

ahih

ahiweim

atiglineige

quality of taking away power

spirits that inhabit waterholes and sacred places,

also clan spirits

cassowary

Sorcerer

taboos

practice of or the one who practices assault sorcery

man who practices assault sorcery

woman who practices assault sorcery, a witch

illness with no scientific medical explanation

life force or soul

life force or soul

red lime made from human bones used in sorcery
bush spirits

a type of sorcery using a taro stalk or red coconut
tree root

91

b ah I o him

ancestral spirits

bahas

ancestral spirits

bonobanom

dwarfs

giglagih

a leaf that causes itchiness

manuguh

a spell using words

manyibel

red coconut tree root used as atiglineige

maulagehem

dwarfs

miching

life force of a person equivalent to soul

muchubun

lemon

nabat

a dog, in sorcery it refers to the sorcerer who looks

after the others

ahlibenoh

a type of plant that is also used to counteract sorcery

ouhluh

"specimen" from a person

segabehas

ghosts of the recent dead

sehleoh

dried ferns

suluh

traditional shell money (ring)

ubabel

a type of lizard

walehas

masalai spirits

wamibel

a type of plant that neutralises the implements or

agents of sorcery

wamileb

plural form of wamibel

wehas

sago thorns coated with lime (ahih)

wichang

a type of grass used in the type of sorcery known as

yowepineim

sorcerer

In Abelam language

bdngwi

protective bush vine

gwasalo

flying squirrel

kwu

small animals living inside a sanguma woman

kwutakwa

sanguma woman or witch

wasupiak

flying squirrel

In Worn language (near Drekikir)

arukwine

A mushroom, also name for a sanguma man

In Boikin language:

maienduo

sanguma man

yamainduo

cassowary man

92

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